At least 25 people died and many others hurt when several houses collapsed after landslides triggered by incessant heavy rains in Mumbai, India, reports said.
As many as 11 incidents of houses collapsing and landslides were reported in India's financial capital Mumbai within the past 24 hours, local authorities said.
Rescue workers used their hands to dig up the ground and retrieve bodies.
A 16-year-old boy was killed after a forest department compound wall collapsed in Bhandup, while a 26-year-old youth was electrocuted in his shop in Andheri west, officials said.
Overnight rains caused severe water logging and disruption of Mumbai's metropolitan train services and vehicular traffic, according to Business Standard.
Such scenes are common in Mumbai during the June to September monsoon, as aging foundations of poorly built structures often collapse under non-stop rain, Reuters said.
Early Sunday morning, a falling tree destroyed a wall in Mumbai's eastern Chembur district, burying nearby residents, the National Disaster Response Force said.
Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that those who are injured have a speedy recovery: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 18, 2021
Rescuers had recovered 19 bodies from the rubble and were searching for survivors and bodies believed to be trapped underneath the debris, NDRF said.
"I saw a small girl who was trapped in the debris. She was shouting 'save me, save me'," Firoz Khan, who was caught up in the downpour in Chembur, told Agence France-Presse.
On Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences and announced aid for the victims.
"Saddened by the loss of lives due to wall collapses in Chembur and Vikhroli in Mumbai. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families," Modi tweeted.
Around 280 people have died and more than 300 injured in Mumbai in the last 29 years. As many as 22,482 people live in dangerous places prone to landslides, Deccan Herald said.
Meanwhile, the weather bureau has forecast "moderate to heavy rain or thundershowers" for the next two days.
